President Bush, 8 years ago today: 'The battle is now joined on many fronts. We will not falter; and we will not fail' — Obama to lawmakers yesterday: no double-down or all-in, but no exit

BREAKING: BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union regulators said Wednesday they were preparing to settle a long and costly antitrust battle with Microsoft Corp. with a deal to give Windows users a choice of Web browsers. Microsoft promised the changes after the EU charged it with monopoly abuse.”

Good Wednesday morning. WEST WING MUST-READ — “Obama's new defense shield: Jones,” by POLITICO’s Laura Rozen: “The recent tension between Obama and his top on-the-ground commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, has made [national security adviser James] Jones, the only former general on Obama’s national security team, a crucial player in asserting Obama's authority over the military and in giving the president breathing room as he considers the force increase McChrystal has publicly advocated.”

TOP CLICK — NYTimes.com: “The White House released a list of 45 artworks that are on loan to the Obamas from several Washington museums. It is a big, broad selection, mostly modern and contemporary paintings and sculptures.” SLIDE SHOWSTORY, “A Bold and Modern White House.”

REPUBLICANS ARE READING — GALLUP.com SHOCKER: “Parties Nearly Tied for Congress in 2010: Roughly a year before the 2010 midterm elections, Gallup finds the Republican and Democratic Parties nearly tied in the congressional ballot preferences of registered voters. Forty-six percent of registered voters say they would vote for the Democrat and 44% say the Republican … The Republican Party's relatively strong position on the generic ballot in the latest poll, conducted Oct. 1-4, stems from the support of political independents, who now favor Republican over Democratic candidates by 45% to 36%."

DEMOCRATS ARE READING — “AP POLL: Obama's job approval rises amid concerns,” by Beth Fouhy: “President Barack Obama's approval ratings are starting to rise after declining ever since his inauguration, new poll figures show as the country's mood begins to brighten. But concerns about the economy, health care and war persist, and support for the war in Afghanistan is falling. An Associated Press-GfK poll says 56 percent of those surveyed in the past week approve of Obama's job performance, up from 50 percent in September. It's the first time since he took office in January that his rating has gone up. People also feel better about his handling of the economy and his proposed health care overhaul. But not about the war.”

HAPPENING TODAY — GOP TURNS UP HEAT ON RANGEL, per a House GOP aide: “Today, Rep. John Carter (R-Texas) will move to force a House vote on removing Rep. [Charles] Rangel as chairman of the Ways & Means Committee pending completion of the Ethics Committee investigation. On two occasions in 2008 House Democrats voted to protect Rangel and allow him to keep his chairmanship … But there have been new charges revealed in the last couple months.” GOP SAYS VOTE WILL BE TODAY OR TOMORROW.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK — COUNTDOWN: Seven days from now, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce launches its Campaign for Free Enterprise, the $100m+ ad and grass-roots campaign announced in June. The goal: 20 million jobs in 10 years. Twitter: @freeenterprise Facebook

THE OTHER SUMMIT — White House senior adviser David Axelrod met privately with Fox News Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Roger Ailes in Manhattan two weeks ago during the president’s visit to the United Nations. The two discussed news coverage and the relationship between the organizations. An FNC spokesperson tells POLITICO that Ailes and Axelrod had a “cordial conversation” over coffee. Axelrod told TIME’s Michael Scherer in an e-mail Monday: “I've known Roger for a long time. … We chatted from time to time during the campaign. I was going to be in NY, so we got together for a cup of coffee."

Michael Clemente, Fox's senior vice president for news, told TIME: "The fact that our numbers are up 30 plus in the news arena on basic cable I'd like to think is a sign that we are just putting what we believe to be the facts out on the table. … In terms of the relationship, I think we are doing our job. And they [the White House] are doing their job. … It reminds me a little bit about what happened to Sam Donaldson when he was covering the White House. … The Reagan White House thought he was enemy number one. He had the same relationship with the Carter White House. They thought he was enemy number one. He thought he was doing his job."

Scherer: “Clemente said that White House aides, in their increasingly vocal criticism, were failing to distinguish between Fox News's journalism, and its pundits and opinion voices, like Beck, who he likened to the op-ed page of the New York Times. Clemente said that the morning show, 'Fox and Friends', where Doocy appears, is an ‘entertainment show that does some news.’”

LIVE CHAT: BROOKINGS: Advancements in technology, new modes of warfare and new actors in conflict are changing our understanding of national security and defense capabilities in the evolving context of the 21st century. Today at 12:30, join Peter Singer, director of the 21st Century Defense Initiative at Brookings and author of the book Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century, and Fred Barbash in a live Web chat about defense in a high-tech world. Join live on the Arena, register at Brookings.edu, or submit advance questions to ScoutingReport@brookings.edu.

8 EIGHT YEARS OF FELLOW AMERICANS IN MINUTE-BY-MINUTE COMBAT -- Eight years ago today, President George W. Bush said in a surprise address to the nation, with an outdoor scene of kite flyers visible in the window behind him:

“Good afternoon. On my orders, the United States military has begun strikes against al Qaeda terrorist training camps and military installations of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. These carefully targeted actions are designed to disrupt the use of Afghanistan as a terrorist base of operations, and to attack the military capability of the Taliban regime. We are joined in this operation by our staunch friend, Great Britain. Other close friends, including Canada, Australia, Germany and France, have pledged forces as the operation unfolds. More than 40 countries in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and across Asia have granted air transit or landing rights. Many more have shared intelligence. We are supported by the collective will of the world. …

“We did not ask for this mission, but we will fulfill it. The name of today's military operation is Enduring Freedom. We defend not only our precious freedoms, but also the freedom of people everywhere to live and raise their children free from fear. I know many Americans feel fear today. And our government is taking strong precautions. All law enforcement and intelligence agencies are working aggressively around America, around the world and around the clock. At my request, many governors have activated the National Guard to strengthen airport security. We have called up Reserves to reinforce our military capability and strengthen the protection of our homeland. …

“To all the men and women in our military — every sailor, every soldier, every airman, every coastguardsman, every Marine — I say this: Your mission is defined; your objectives are clear; your goal is just. You have my full confidence, and you will have every tool you need to carry out your duty. … The battle is now joined on many fronts. We will not waver; we will not tire; we will not falter; and we will not fail. Peace and freedom will prevail. Thank you. May God continue to bless America.”

International Herald Tribune streamer (line above the nameplate, like where the Post does the ‘Skins score on Mondays): “AMERICA STRIKES BACK.”

The New York Times — 6 cols., 3 lines: “U.S. AND BRITAIN STRIKE AFGHANISTAN, AIMING AT BASES AND TERRORIST CAMPS; BUSH WARNS ‘TALIBAN WILL PAY A PRICE.’”

THIS SAD FIXTURE RUNS ON THE AP A-WIRE EACH EVENING AROUND 8:30: “BC-US--Afghan-US Deaths: US military deaths in Afghanistan region at 791: As of Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2009, at least 791 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to the Defense Department. The department last updated its figures Tuesday at 10 a.m. EDT. Of those, the military reports 611 were killed by hostile action. Outside the Afghan region, the Defense Department reports 72 more members of the U.S. military died in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Of those, three were the result of hostile action. The military lists these other locations as Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba; Djibouti; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Jordan; Kenya; Kyrgyzstan; Philippines; Seychelles; Sudan; Tajikistan; Turkey; and Yemen. There were also four CIA officer deaths and one military civilian death.

PULLING BACK THE CURTAIN: The White House asked both Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to put out their statements reiterating their support for health-care reform, per POLITICO’s Alexander Burns and Ben Smith.

SPOTTED, on the front page of the L.A. Times, in a Mandel Ngan photo of the stakeout: Jonathan Weisman and Keith Koffler.

THE MOST INTERESTING EXCHANGE IN THE WAR MEETING: Sen. McCain said this shouldn’t be a “leisurely” process. The next speaker was Sen. Levin, who said President Bush took three months on the surge. At the end, the president said this won’t be leisurely, because no one feels more urgency to get this right than he does.

WHAT HAPPENED IN THE MEETING — President Barack Obama told congressional leaders around the huge State Dining Room table that the options he is considering for Afghanistan do not include either a huge surge or a hasty exit, but instead fall in between. “He said: There’s not a decision to double-down in Afghanistan, nor is there a decision to leave,” a senior administration official said. “The president made clear that whatever decision he does make will not make everybody around that table happy, but that he is committed to this being a consultative process going forward.” The official called the meeting “a chance for the president to identify what is and is not on the table. And what is not on the table, in any sense, is leaving Afghanistan or so narrowly defining our mission as to be the equivalent of leaving Afghanistan. Similarly, there is no consideration of an option that would entail hundreds of thousands of American troops over a very extended period of time, which would be an all-in campaign that would go far above any beyond the resources that have been discussed.”

The meeting included 31 lawmakers and lasted 1 hour 27 minutes. The president sat in the middle of the table, flanked by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), with House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) next to Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) next to Reid. From there, the lawmakers were paired by committees. Vice President Biden Joe sat across from the president. At the table from the White House were chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, National Security Adviser James Jones, Deputy National Security Adviser Tom Donilon and John Brennan, assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism.

The official said that every lawmaker had a chance to talk, so Obama spent more time listening than talking. Some gave very specific advice. No congressional staff attended. “He found the discussion very useful and constructive,” the official said. Obama told the lawmakers that he wanted to have “mechanisms for regular contact between our administration and the Congress, and that he had an open line to those members who wanted to reach out to him with their ideas or concerns,” the official said.

THE COVERAGE:

— Chicago Tribune p. 1 tease: “Obama asks for time on war review: Meeting with congressional leaders Tuesday, the president asked legislators for patience as he completes a review of his Afghan war strategy.”

— L.A. Times lead story: “Obama rules out big cut in Afghan force: Whether the troop level will increase remains an open question. Pressure is rising for him to act.”

— AP’s Ben Feller, “Obama offers no firm signals on troop increases”: “Obama may be considering a more modest building of troops — closer to 10,000 than 40,000 — according to Republican and Democratic congressional aides. But White House aides said no such decision has been made.”

“Michael Scusa dreamed of serving in the Army and eagerly enlisted just before graduating from Lower Cape May Regional High School four years ago. He had been in Afghanistan for five months, after a 15-month tour in Iraq, when his base in the Hindu Kush mountains came under a ferocious attack Saturday. About 300 insurgents knocked out an observation post before dawn, then came close to overrunning thinly manned Camp Keating during a battle that lasted for hours. In the end, the 22-year-old Army Spec. Scusa, a former resident of Villas in Lower Township, Cape May County, and seven other U.S. soldiers were killed in the storm of machine-gun fire, mortar rounds, and rocket-propelled grenades that rained down from the mountain ridges.

“The combat losses were the highest for a single day since nine U.S. troops were killed in July 2008. Making the deaths even more painful was their timing, just days before the base, 10 miles from the Pakistani border, was scheduled for closure. Yesterday, Scusa's remains arrived at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware along with those of other soldiers. His mother, Cynthia Woodard, 52, of Mount Holly, watched her son's flag-draped coffin carried reverently from the back of a C-17 cargo plane as soldiers saluted. She was joined by Scusa's wife, Alyssa, who lives in Fountain, Colo., with the couple's year-old son, Connor, named after a friend of Scusa's, a soldier lost in Iraq. Also present were Scusa's siblings, James Woodard, 27, of Elverson, Berks County; John Woodard, 30, of Philadelphia; and Susan Woodard, 34, also of Elverson.”

— Chicago Tribune, “Daley returns undaunted: Bid loss won’t hurt his fate, mayor says; brother expects him to run again,” by Dan Mihalopoulos: “Mayor Richard Daley poked fun Tuesday at any suggestion the city’s failed bid to win the 2016 Olympics would hasten his political demise, and his brother William said he expects the mayor to run for a seventh term in 2011. ‘Win or lose, the Olympics were never going to determine what Rich Daley was going to do, William Daley, a longtime political adviser to the mayor, said in an interview. ‘I believe he runs again. I just assume he does. He still has the enthusiasm for the job.’ The mayor declined to say whether he would run again during his first City Hall news conference since returning from last week’s International Olympic Committee vote in Copenhagen. But he laughed at the notion he was damaged goods because of Chicago’s ouster in the first round of voting. ‘You wrote my obituary, didn’t you?’ he told reporters, laughing. … Asked if he expected to pay any political price for the Olympic loss, the mayor said, ‘No, none whatsoever.’ The IOC’s rejection, he said, made it no less likely that he would seek another term. He said he did not yet know why Chicago was the first of four finalists to be cut.”

— FROM THE DESK OF PAM STEVENS: “Breast Cancer Awareness hits Capitol Hill — Several Members of Congress will be headlining a special breast cancer awareness event today to mark the 25th Anniversary of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) and Rep. Sue Myrick (R-NC) will be leading a special order hour on the floor of the House of Representatives dedicated to breast cancer awareness. Reps. Wasserman Schultz and Myrick are encouraging their colleagues to wear pink and join them on the House floor with their own tributes and calls for action. Susan G. Komen for the Cure® is actively involved in building solidarity for this event by furnishing pink ribbons in both the House and Senate cloakrooms for members to wear in honor of their mothers, sisters, daughters, and friends. The special order hour will be followed later in the day by a hearing in the House Energy & Commerce’s Health Subcommittee on four breast cancer bills that are currently before the Subcommittee. Jennifer Luray, the new president of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Advocacy Alliance, will testify at that hearing and will participate in a press conference in the House Triangle immediately following the hearing.”

SPORTS BLINK: USA Today, top of 1A: "Miracle in Minnesota: The Twins win a 12-inning thriller to capture the AL Central and will play the Yankees today as the playoffs begin."

“WHY TIM TEBOW SHOULD SIT” — “SI senior writer Chris Ballard still can’t shake the image of Tim Tebow getting plowed over by a Kentucky lineman on Sept. 26 and his helmeted head cracking into a teammate’s knee. Considering the aftereffects of the kind of concussion that he suffered — vomiting, severe headaches and dizziness among them — he should not be allowed to suit up for the rest of this season. On the other hand, the prospect of him facing No. 4 LSU is too tantalizing NOT to want to see him. Ballard writes: ‘Tough is what we’ve come to expect every weekend when hundreds of hulking, supremely fit football players sprint onto chalk-marked battlefields and launch themselves at each other with staggering force — 1,500 pounds of it, to be exact, or the equivalent impact of jumping off a 13-foot ladder headfirst…. As fans we often celebrate a massive hit, glorified in slo-mo and telestrated and frozen on our 45-inch hi-def big screens, just as we watch boxers bludgeon each other and call it Saturday-night entertainment, just as we laud hockey players who deliver skull-quaking cross-checks. … On weekends we just want to see a tight end get lit up by a safety and feel guilt-free. Just let me know if it’s O.K. to cheer or not. And please don’t force me to extrapolate too much — to think about children’s sports leagues or the hundreds of teenage athletes, even more susceptible to concussions than adults, who watch the hasty returns made by countless college stars and NFL players and use them as their own guideline. Because the more I learn about head injuries, the more torn I become. Which is to say that while I’d really like to see Tim Tebow play this weekend, it’s going to be hard for me to enjoy it if he does.’”

DESSERT — N.Y. Daily News: Tom DeLay withdraws from “Dancing with the Stars”: “[W]ith stress fractures in both feet, the former Majority Leader … followed the advice of both his doctor's and the show's producers, withdrawing from the popular ABC dancing competition, where he'd been paired with Cheryl Burke. ‘If you can't practice, you make a fool of yourself out here,’ DeLay said. ‘I don't want to do that to Cheryl.’ While he will no longer contend for this season's title, ‘The Hammer’ will rejoin Burke on the season finale to perform the Texas two-step (which would have been his next dance), provided his feet are up to it. Afterwards, making the traditional post-elimination appearance on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live,' DeLay admitted to being a bit embarrassed, saying, ‘A boy from Texas breaking his feet dancing...’”

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Authors:

About The Author

Mike Allen is the chief White House correspondent for POLITICO. He comes to us from Time magazine where he was their White House correspondent. Prior to that, Allen spent six years at The Washington Post, where he covered President Bush's first term, Capitol Hill, campaign finance, and the Bush, Gore and Bradley campaigns of 2000. Before turning to national politics, he covered schools and local governments in rural counties outside Fredericksburg, Va., for The Free Lance-Star, then wrote about Doug Wilder, Oliver North, Chuck Robb and the Bobbitts for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, where he nurtured police sources on overnight ride-alongs through housing projects. Allen also covered Mayor Giuliani, the Connecticut statehouse and the wacky rich of Greenwich for The New York Times. Before moving to The Times, he did stints in the Richmond and Alexandria bureaus of The Washington Post. Allen grew up in Orange County, Calif., and has a B.A. from Washington and Lee University, where he majored in politics and journalism.